Centres scramble to meet new teacher ratios
From 2020, preschools, kindergartens and day care centres with 60 or more children must have two qualified early childhood teachers instead of one — but are there enough staff for the extra jobs?
Early Years
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Childcare centres are scrambling to find enough qualified workers ahead of new staff ratios to come into effect next year.
Early Childhood Australia says more people must train as early childhood educators to stem the predicted workplace shortages.
From 2020, preschools, kindergartens and day care centres with 60 or more children must have two qualified early childhood teachers. Currently, the requirement is for just one.
ECA chief executive Samantha Page says high attrition rates from the early childhood sector to schools is adding further staffing pressure.
“Early childcare is a really dynamic sector — there’s a lot of opportunity for career pathways and career growth,” she says.
“If you’re qualified (as an early childhood teacher), and you’re good at what you do, then you’re not likely to find any difficulty in finding work … in lots of different parts of the country.’’
Page says teachers within the childcare sector often progress their career at a faster rate than those in a school setting, making it an attractive avenue for many.
“You have a lot of autonomy (as a childcare teacher),’’ she says.
“There’s plenty of opportunities for you to step up to the education leader role, work in executive roles or step into management if that’s what you want to do.’’
Goodstart Early Learning people and culture business partner Marnie Black says working as an early childhood educator presents an array of opportunities but admits the profession is poorly perceived.
“It’s not about changing nappies — it’s very much about setting our children up for success,’’ Black says.
“Professional development is a really strong focus for us.
“We have teachers that move into centre director roles that want to take on more of the broader remit of running a centre.
“We have specialist teachers that work with disadvantaged and vulnerable children, partnering with specialist support such as psychologists and speech pathologists.
“We have early learning consultants — teachers that become coaches to other teachers and other centres.’’
Sarah Yates-Taylor, 28, secured work as a teacher in a toddler room with Goodstart last year, shortly after finishing her early childhood education degree through university.
Yates-Taylor believes childcare settings offer more opportunity to develop relationships with children than schools and is pleased the new staffing requirements will increase job security.
“We are in a position to get to know the families in great detail, to support them and their child through the first five years and see them confidently transition to school knowing we have given them the best possible start,’’ she says.